NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP)— More than 800 people across Africa have died from mpox, the African Union’s disease control centre said Thursday, warning the epidemic “was not under control”.

Some 34,297 cases have been recorded across the continent since January, the AU’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said, adding that the figure included 38 cases in Ghana.

This brings to 16 the number of African countries where mpox has been officially detected this year, according to the health agency.

“The epidemic is not under control,” Jean Kaseya, the head of Africa CDC told a press briefing, saying the number of deaths since the start of the year was 866.

He also warned that the testing rate remained “too low”, noting that some 2,500 new cases had been detected in the past week.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — the epicentre of the outbreak — would begin vaccinating in two days, Kaseya added. Vaccinations had been due to begin October 2.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.

It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.